Coffee-drying machine



Oct. 16 1923. 1,470,703 M. A. VILLAVICENCIO COFFEE DRYING MACHINE 7Filed June 2, 1922 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 JZQQ. 722M560 ewe 0,

WITNESSES A'TI'ORNEY Get. 16, 1923. 1,470,703

M. A. VILLAVICENCIO COFFEE DRYING MACHINE Filed June 2, 1922 3Sheets-Sheet 3 H o 1: I .4. as 2 g! 25 ll II flag. WZanwen/cw,

NW" W 4 6 I NEY WITNESSE S ATTOR Patented Get. 16, 1923.

arise starts a aite MIGUEL ANGEL VILLAVICENCIO, on CARACAS, VENEZUELA.

COFFEE-DRYING MACHINE.

Application filed June 2, 1922. Serial No. 565,468. 1

To aZZ whom it mag concern. 7

Be it known that I, Mrennr. A. VILLAVI- onNoro, a citizen ofVenezuela,residing at Caracas, Venezuela, South America, have inventednew and useful Improvements in Coffee-Drying Machines, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for treating coffee to render it fitfor. use and has for its object the provision of a novel power drivenroaster ordryer equipped with means for forcing heatedvair through thecoffee as it is agitated during turning movement of a containing drum.

An important object is the provision of a device of this character whichis provided with novel bearing means for supporting the drum during itsrotary movement, whereby to take the weight off of the bearings and offof the hot air conducting pipe through whichpasses the air used, foreffecting the drying or roasting.

Another object is the provision of a device of this character whichincludes only a few parts which are moreover s0 connected and arrangedthat they maybe disassembled to permit transportation of the device inknocked-down. condition in a very simple manner and even upon horse backor a mule pack, the device being thus advantageous for use onplantations and other places where the ordinary cumbersome roastingmachines would be inconvenient.

An additional object is the provision of a device of this characterwhich will be simple and inexpensive in manufacture, highly eflicient inuse, cheap to'operate, durable in service and a generalimprovement inthe art.

With the above and other objects and advantages in view, the inventionconsists in the details of construction to be hereinafter more fullydescribed and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich: v a

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device withparts broken away and insection,

Figure 2 is an elevation taken at right angles to Figure 1 partsbrokenaway and in section, i a

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view through a portion of the drumshowing the baffle arrangement therein, i i i 1 x Figure 4 is a detail jsectional view taken vertically at the axisof'the drum,

Referring more particularly to the drawings the numeral 10 designatesthe support ing base of the machine from which rise a plurality ofuprights ll upon which are mounted bearings 12 for a shaft 13 carrying adrivenpulley 15 and a drive pulley 14:. This shaft also carries a worm16for a purpose to be described' The frame of the de vice furtherincludes a cradle formedof downwardly extending semicircular bars 17 iwhich are secured to the upper ends of certain of the uprights 11 andwhich are braced by inclined bars 18 connected as shown.

The numeral 19 designates cross bars-which areconnected with the upperends of all but one end most upright 11 and which are also connectedwith the upper ends of the cradle bars 17. Mounted upon these bars 19are bearings 20. Journaled upon the bars 17 portion 25 constituting theouter portionof the drum. This drum bears upon the rollers 21 so thatthe eight is borne. entirely thereby instead of coming upon the bearings20. The outside wall 25 of the drum is provided are rollers 21 which maybe of any desired 24; to which is secured the cylindrical shell withopenings 26 for theinlet of the coffee beans to be roasted or dried andassociated with these openings are slidingcover plates 27 suitablymounted. The shelly25 is also provided with outletopenings 28 adapted tobe covered and uncovered bysliding doors or plates 29 similarly mounted.The openings 28 and platess29 are similar to the openings 26 and plates27 and either may be used fonplacing coffee beans within the devicebefore roasting and for removing,

them after the roasting is completed. The drum may be divided rintoiany'numberof compartments as may be preferred so that different grades ofcoffee may be roasted at have shown two compartments. It should 30 forthe escape of moisture and air from the same time and in the presentinstance I 1 also be stated that the outer periphery ofthe drum isprovided with perforated portions the coffee while it is being ,driedorv roasted. i

The means for effecting the heating or roasting constists of a smallfurnace structure 31 having an outlet stack 32 within which is located aserpentine flue 33 into one end of which leads a pipe leading from acentrifugal blower 35 which has its shaft provided with a pulley 36about which is trained a belt 37 which is, in turn, trained about thedrive pulley 14. Leading from the upper end of the flue 33 is a pipe 38which connects with the center of a horizontally disposed U-shapeddistributor pipe 39 which straddles the drum 22 and which has its endsleading into the, center of the drum at opposite sides. The numeral 40designates a thermometer which is located in one of the arms of thisdistributor pipe near the point of entrance into the drum.

Each drum compartment may be subdivided by radial partitions '41 whichterminate short of the distributor pipe and which have their inner endsconnected by curved wire screens 42 which will permit the passage of thehot air while preventing the coffee beans from engaging the outlet endsof the distributor pipe. The numeral 43 designates arcuate concentricbaflles of different lengths and the numeral 44 designates a compoundcurved baflie which is located inwardly of the baffles 43.

In the operation of the device it will be seen that coffee beans to.beroa ted or dried are placed within the drum compartments through therespective feed openings 26. When the furnace is in operation and theshaft 13 is driven by power applied to the puley'15, the blower 35 willbe operated and the drum will be rotated owing to the engagement of theworm 16 with a worm wheel 45 mounted upon one side of the drum. As thedrum rotates the coifee beans will be shaken about and throughlyagitated by 'means of the bafiles 43 and 44 so that all the beans willbe properly sub jected to the action of the hot air which enters thedrum through the distributor pipe 39. The air is of course forced by theblower into and through the serpentine fine 33 located within the stack,the air being subsequently forced through the pipe 38 and into theU-shaped distributor pipe 39'which discharges into the drum. Aftercirculating through the coffee the air passes out through the perforatedportions 30 of the drums carrying with it whatever moisture is removedfrom the coffee beans.

From the foregoing description and a study of the drawings it will beapparent that have thus provided a simply constructed and consequentlyinexpensive machine for drying coffee in a very rapid and effectivemanner, very little power being necessary owing to the lightness ofconstruction and'the peculiar mounting of the drum which reducesfriction to the 'miniwill be noted that the parts, are

easily capable of separation so that the entire machine may bedisassembled and transported from place to place wherever the use isdesired, the device being thus of great utility on coffee plantationswhere the usual cumbersome machinery would be unsatisfactory.

lVhi-le I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of theinvention, it is of course to be understood that I reserve the right tomake such changes in the form, construction and arrangement of parts aswill not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of thesubjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention I claim:

1. A machine of the character described comprising a supporting frameincluding a cradle provided with rollers, a drum rotatablysupportedwithin said cradle and provided with inlet and outlet openings,means for rotating the drum, an means for forcing a blast of hot airinto the drum at the center thereof, consisting of a furnace having astack, a blower, a Serpentine. flue within the furnace stack connectedwith the blower and a distributorpipe leading from the flue into thedrum.

2. A machine of the character described comprising a supporting frameincluding a cradle provided with rollers, a drum rotatably supportedwithin said cradle and provided with inlet and outlet openings, meansfor rotating the drum, and means for forcing a blast of hot air into thedrum at the center thereof, consisting of a furnace having a stack, ablower, a, serpentine flue Within the furnace stack connected with theblower and a distributor pipe leading from the flue into the drum, saiddistributor being of U-shaped and arranged in straddling relation to thedrum with the ends of its arms directed toward each other and lead inginto the drum at its axis.

3. A'machine of the character described comprising a supporting frame,arcuate bar carried by the frame, and constituting a cradle, a series ofrollers journaled on said arcuate bars, a drum rQt'atably mounted withinthe cradle and resting upon said rollers, a worm wheel carried by thedrum,

a shaft journaled in said frame and provided with driving means, a, wormon said shaft meshing with said worm wheel, and means for forcing ablast of hot air into the drum at the center thereof,

4. In a coffee drying machine a rotary drum of cylindrical'form dividedinto. separate compartments, radially extending. partitions subdividingeach compartment, curved screens connecting the inner ends of thepartitions, means for rotating. the drum, means for forcing, a blast ofheated air into. the; drum within said] screens,

5'. In a cofiee drying machine a; rotary drum of cylindrical formdivided into sep-' arate compartments, radially extending partitionssubdividing each compartment, curved screens connecting the inner endsof a the partitions, means for rotating the drum, means for forcing ablast of heated air into the drum Within said screens, a pair ofconcentric baffles of unequal lengths Wit/hi1) each compartment of thedrum, and a compound curved bafile located inwardly of the pair ofbaflies.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

MIGUEL ANGEL VILLAVIGENCIO.

